6 strange coincidences of Vietnam National Team at Asian Cup 2007 and 2019
In history, the Vietnamese men's football team has only participated in the Asian Cup finals twice. And it's hard to believe that there are quite a few interesting coincidences.
Both are the youngest team in the tournament.
At this year's Asian Cup, coach Park Hang-seo brought to the UAE the youngest squad of the 24 participating teams, with an average age of 23.1.
12 years ago, at the 2007 Asian Cup Finals, the Vietnamese team also brought 23 players with an average age of 23.3, the lowest among the participating teams.
Both won 2-0 against a West Asian team in the group stage
In both Asian Cups, the Vietnamese team won 2-0 in the group stage. In 2007, coach Riedl's team defeated UAE 2-0 in the opening match. This time, Quang Hai and his teammates also defeated Yemen with the same score.
The two victories against those West Asian teams were both important keys that opened the door for the Vietnamese team to continue.
Both have 4 goals in the group stage
In the group stage of these two events, we both scored 4 goals. More notably, in the 4 goals in each period, the Vietnamese team had 1 goal from a defender, and 1 goal from an opponent's own goal.
The goalscorers for the "Golden Star Warriors" in the group stage of this year's Asian Cup were Cong Phuong, Quang Hai, defender Que Ngoc Hai, and an own goal by Iraq's captain - Faez.
Meanwhile, at the Asian Cup 12 years ago, defenders Huynh Quang Thanh, Le Cong Vinh, and Phan Thanh Binh scored for Vietnam. The remaining goal came from an own goal by defender Suzuki (Japan).
Both conceded 7 goals in the whole tournament.
Twelve years ago, goalkeeper Duong Hong Son had to pick the ball out of the net 7 times at the 2007 Asian Cup, including 5 goals in the group stage and 2 goals in the quarter-finals. This year, goalkeeper Dang Van Lam also conceded 5 goals in the group stage, 1 goal in the round of 16 and 1 goal in the quarter-finals.
Fate with West Asian football
At the 2007 Asian Cup, 3 of the 4 opponents of the Vietnamese team were UAE, Qatar, and Iraq. At the 2019 Asian Cup, the red team even faced 4 opponents from West Asia: Iraq, Iran, Yemen, and Jordan.
Will the team that beats Vietnam in the quarter-finals win the championship?
In 2007, Iraq defeated Vietnam 2-0 in the quarter-finals, then went on to beat South Korea and Saudi Arabia to win their first ever title. The same is happening in this year's tournament. After beating the top contender, Iran, 3-0 in the semi-finals, Japan are well on their way to winning the Asian Cup for the fifth time in history.
